Help?!? CO2 really high, is this bad?

[sudz]

Ok, well, i've been struggling to get my CO2 up there on my 44 gallon thank, what i HAD was a 700ml DIY bottle, and a HOB canistier with a bubble "ladder" It was getting the CO2 to 15ppm max, at 7.4 PH... Soo, right befor ei left last night, i whipped up a 2 liter to replace the 700ml.
Came home at midnight (7 hours later, 1 hour after lights out) and the PH was at 7.0 A jump, but still normal. It made my CO2 to 24ppm (KH of 8 degrees) and then rightnow, i wake up and test, and my PH is 6.8, making my CO2 at 38ppm!!!

First of all:
Will this suffocate my fish?
Second of all, is that PH jump going to shock my fish?
Third of all: Is there ANY way of regulating DIY CO2? I know for a fact that a 2 liter pop bottle can handle 125 PSI before blowing (around 150 PSI) i used 125 as the red line

Anyway, Thoughts, Cautions, Words of wisdoms?

I'm going to turn on my lights early today, let the plants use some CO2.

Oh, all the fish LOOK fine, and the golden gourami isn't even at the surface "gulping" air like he can do.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[sudz]

I just came up with an idea.

Leave my CO2 ladder running all the time.

the 2 liter bottle goes into my powerhead. What i fi turnned off the powerhead when i turn off the lights? Then it'd just bubble to the surface (4 inches) and wouldn't get blasted into little bubbles throughout my tank. Sound like a idea?

 

[greenmaji]

you can only releave CO2 from a DIY CO2 system (such as adding a line and a needle valve to let some of the gas escape.. restricting it will likely cause a generator to explode.. sounds like a stinky mess to me.. but what do I know..
keep an eye on the fish.. there are tell tell signs of too much CO2 and your levels are kinda high but I wouldnt thing so much so as to cause serious issues.. PH changes caused by CO2 are not as harmfull either (TDS with PH changes make a big diffence for some reason Im not remembering right now)
increased CO2 will not decrease the O2 in the water.. ie the CO2 does not force the O2 out of the water and that is the common misconseption in this senerio..
alot of HIGH light planted tank hobbiest run there preasurized CO2 to 35ppm intentionaly.. so as long as your measurments are not off you should be ok.. ok?

 

[sudz]

alright, thanks for removing some of my panic.

It could still be on its way up, so i'll be testing constantly today.

The lights are on now, and my hornwort is pearling a bit! (hasn't in over a month, since it was in my 10 gallon)

 

[greenmaji]

if all else fails.. you can always hook up a air pump w/airstone to kick on if the levels get much higher..
good news on the hornwort.. woot

 

[sudz]

Yeah! hopefully my hornwort will pull through, its got a bit of fuz growing on it, and not as green as it used to be... gone a browny color, but the new growth (even today!!!) is REALLY green!

 

[Simpte]

Your co2 level isn't high. While some is being wasted (anything over 35ppm is useless in all but the highest lit tanks) it will not affect your fish. My concern would be keeping the Co2 stable.

 

[czcz]

With DIY in terms of plants, CO2 output early after mix change and before lights on is not so important. More important are levels during the photoperiod and day to day. If you start another bottle in a week and connect it with a T to your first 2L, then change alternating bottles weekly (each mix gets changed every two weeks), you can do a lot for stability with the regular yeast+sugar recipie. An alternative would be a more complicated mix with more even output: Zezmo and Piscesgirl have posted their mixes in the past. I believe they also run multiple bottles though... might be wrong. If your set-up is less than med-high light, high output is less important.

For your fish, putting the powerhead for the reactor on the same timer as the lights is a fine idea. People have been doing this for years with success. Some like to have the powerhead on a half hour to an hour before lights on to build up CO2.

HTH

 

[sudz]

And i thought it was a stroke of genious! lol, I think thats what i'll do, i don't like having my PH bounce around like that, it may just be paranoia, but my rainbow fish looked a little darker/stressed today :-| But he changes constantly. Cool little fish.

I'll keep you posted as to my findings/follies

 

[malkore]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: CO2 does NOT displace O2. You can have 250ppm of CO2, and still have oxygen saturation, thus the fish will NOT suffocate.

Also, 38ppm isn't 'really high' by any means. 35ppm is where I try to keep mine.

 

[sudz]

gotcha. Thanks again for putting up with my n00bness.

 

[BrianNY]

I'll credit Steve Hampton and TankGirl with helping me understand the following about CO2 levels......

CO2 will gas out of water just due to atmospheric pressure thus showing a rise in pH. Without adding any CO2, water will typically hold only 2-3ppm of CO2. To determine if your measurement of CO2 is correct, you need to test some tank water that has been left standing in a pitcher over night. If you get a reading that shows over 3ppm of CO2 in this standing water, you are not getting as much CO2 into your tank as you think.

 

[fastfly48]

I just made a new post with the same kind of theme...

Though my Ph is swinging between 7 and 6!
Fish didn't like that....they're ok though. I just don't know how my Ph can fall from 6.8 in the morning to 6 ten hours of CO2 (at under a bubble a secind) later, with a Kh of 50ppm...
Ry.